Brennan walked into the Jeffersonian Thursday morning. It was exceptionally early, even by her standards. But after getting no more sleep following the deep sleep on her sofa the evening before, she decided it was best to try to get her mind off the last 24 hours by burying herself in the work she had abandoned yesterday afternoon. By the time the others had begun trickling in for the day, she had cleared yesterday's leftovers and had started in on several projects that required mind numbing repetition, something that she always pushed off to the side, but perfect for a day when she needed a "numb mind". She looked up just in time to see Angela making a bee line for her office before even taking off her jacket. "Okay sweetie. What happened yesterday to make you storm out of the lab, never return, and not answer your phone all evening?" She was giving Brennan a look that said she wasn't leaving without an answer. "Angela, I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk to you about this yesterday, and I'll tell you everything. But check to see if Cam is in yet, because I have to tell you both together. I just can't tell the story twice. It's going to be painful enough." Angela was stunned. This had to be something big. She nodded and left the office without saying a word.
Five minutes later, Angela and Cam were seated across the desk from Brennan, who had pulled off one of her beaded bracelets and was nervously fingering the beads. She looked up at them and began. "Booth and I are no longer work partners. My new partner is Special Agent Tim O'Brien. You may have seen him in my office yesterday shortly before I left. Agent O'Brien walked into my office yesterday to introduce himself and I was puzzled over why he was here. He asked if anyone from the FBI had contacted me to inform me that he had been chosen to be my new partner." Angela and Cam turned to each other with startled looks on their faces, Angela turned back to Brennan and leaned toward her. "O…..kay? What the hell sweetie?" Brennan put her hand up. "Let me continue. I grabbed my cell phone and was about to call Booth, but thought better of it. So I called his boss, Andrew, and asked him if what Agent O'Brien was telling me was true, who made the decision, and why? He seemed taken aback that I didn't have those answers and eventually told me that the decision was Booth's and that Booth said he felt it was time for a change." Angela and Cam were both displaying different levels of aghast as Brennan continued. "After disconnecting the call, I asked Agent O'Brien to leave his number and that I would get back to him. He really seemed blindsided by the whole thing and said he thought I had been informed of the change before his visit." Brennan took a deep breath and relayed the conversation with Booth after she stormed into his office. "So this was all Hannah's doing? And he tried to tell you it was a joint decision until you forced the truth out of him?" Angela was livid. "And that's not the worst of it! That coward didn't have the balls to come and tell you in person? Oh, sweetie. He is dead to me! You are well and truly better off without him in your life!" By the time she finished, Angela was practically spitting nails. She was using all the willpower she had to remain in her chair and not storm over to FBI Headquarters herself.
Cam, on the other hand, looked dismayed. "I've been friends with Seeley for a very long time. This just doesn't sound like him." She looked at Brennan with concern in her eyes. "Are you sure he told you the whole story?" Angela almost jumped out of her seat. "Cam, what could he possibly add to that story that would excuse his behavior? Hannah decided that she didn't want Booth around Brennan - sounds like she doesn't trust her BOYFRIEND. How messed up is that? Booth, like the lapdog it seems he's become to her, immediately drops a highly successful 6 year partnership for no good reason. And then he doesn't relay that information in person? Or at all? Am I missing something?" Angela looked from Cam to Brennan and back again. Cam looked at them both in dismay. "I've got nothing." She looked across to Brennan who seemed deflated after her recitation. "I'll talk to him Doctor Brennan. I just want to hear it from the horse's mouth. But I agree with Angela that it sounds like he really has no good excuse for his behavior. It's very disappointing." She shook her head. "Not the Seeley Booth I've known all these years." Cam got up and headed back to her office, but Angela hung back. She walked around the desk and Brennan stood up to receive her warm hug. When they broke apart she saw that Brennan had tears in her eyes. "I'll be fine Angela. I was living a good and purpose filled life before Seeley Booth came into it and I will find an even better path without him. The decision to completely cut him out of my life will help me to 'move on' just as he did. I can't say that I'm at peace quite yet, but I will be. And I'll be stronger for it." Now Angela had tears in her eyes as she watched her friend literally picking herself up off the mat after a tough battle. "And I will make sure he stays out of your life. If he ever comes round you, he will have me to deal with." Brennan gave her a slight smile, the first one to grace her face in the last 24 hours. That was good enough for Angela.